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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

On sale

1st August 2015

Price: £49.99

The Kitschies Golden Tentacle, 2014

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Selected: Hardcover / ISBN-13: 9781473619791
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LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEY’S WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION

‘A quietly profound, humane tour de force’ Guardian

The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity.

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn’t expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.

But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful – exactly what Rosemary wants.

Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They’ll earn enough money to live comfortably for years… if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful.

But Rosemary isn’t the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.

PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS

‘Never less than deeply involving‘ DAILY MAIL


‘Explores the quieter side of sci-fi while still wowing us with daring leaps of imagination’ iBOOKS

‘So much fun to read’ HEAT

‘Chambers is simply an exceptional talent, quietly and beautifully redefining the space opera’ TOR.COM

‘The most fun that I’ve had with a novel in a long, long time’ iO9

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Reviews

Citior SF
One of the most delightful novels science-fiction that I've read in recent years.
A huge amount of space-opera-y fun, with some interestingly nuanced perspectives on gender woven into the whole.
One of the most enjoyable, brilliantly realised spacey SF novels I've read in ages.
Pornokitsch
The Long Way is, very simply, an extremely good book, a seemingly effortless demonstration of how progressive and enjoyable science fiction can be.
io9
A real treat to read . . . Easily the most fun that I've had with a novel in a long, long time. This is space opera that's not to be missed
Joanne Harris, author of The Gospel of Loki
By far the best sci-fi I've read in a long time: something genuinely different, inclusive and compassionate
James Smythe, author of The Echo
One of the most enjoyable, brilliantly realised spacey SF novels I've read in ages.
Citior SF
One of the most delightful novels science-fiction that I've read in recent years
Pornokitsch
The Long Way is, very simply, an extremely good book, a seemingly effortless demonstration of how progressive and enjoyable science fiction can be
Guardian
An action-adventure space opera . . . It is a quietly profound, humane tour de force that tackles politics and gender issues with refreshing optimism
Tor.com
A joyous, optimistic space opera... Although it isn't shy about tackling Big Questions, PLANET is a heart-warming debut novel that will restore your faith in science fiction (specifically) and humanity (in general).
Citior SF
One of the most delightful novels science-fiction that I've read in recent years.
Adam Roberts, author of Jack Glass
A huge amount of space-opera-y fun, with some interestingly nuanced perspectives on gender woven into the whole
NPR 50 Best Sci-fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade
Becky Chambers writes aliens like no one else ... the only flaw in this series is you'll wish you could spend more time with all of them
Tor.com
A joyous, optimistic space opera... Although it isn't shy about tackling Big Questions, PLANET is a heart-warming debut novel that will restore your faith in science fiction (specifically) and humanity (in general).
One of the most enjoyable, brilliantly realised spacey SF novels I've read in ages.
Pornokitsch
The Long Way is, very simply, an extremely good book, a seemingly effortless demonstration of how progressive and enjoyable science fiction can be.
A huge amount of space-opera-y fun, with some interestingly nuanced perspectives on gender woven into the whole.
Tor.com
A joyous, optimistic space opera . . . A heart-warming debut novel that will restore your faith in science fiction (specifically) and humanity (in general)